Vegas Golden Knights fans celebrated on Wednesday as their megastar, Jack Eichel, signed an eight-year contract extension. He's getting $13.5 million AAV for his deal as he sticks around with Mitch Marner to create some offensive magic. Keep an eye on that number for a second because it'll be important later.
After that, we have Pavel Dorofeyev, who'll be a restricted free agent after this season. He's arbitration-eligible and expects to earn a lofty payday after scoring a team-high 35 goals last season. That could be another headache for the Golden Knights to manage come next season...
...Or will it? Mind you, Eichel's $13.5 million AAV deal opens the door for the Russian winger to earn his keep, too. Having roughly $5.23 million in cap space for next season (according to PuckPedia) leaves enough room for Dorofeyev to get his cut, even if he has another great season.
Overall, it goes back to value for the Golden Knights. Finding the right amount for the next guy is tough for any general manager. In fact, McCrimmon has had troubles with this issue himself, whether it's money or the length of the contract. Luckily, he's better at managing the cap than people realize, where it also applies here.
Why Vegas Golden Knights fans will thank Kelly McCrimmon and Jack Eichel for Pavel Dorofeyev's next deal
Remember when I talked about how great the Golden Knights were at finding intrinsic value in players? Every player, sans three names, was a valuable signing for Vegas (yes, that even includes Mitch Marner). That included Shea Theodore, whose $7.4 million AAV deal was $20.7 million in surplus savings for McCrimmon. Already, you're looking at big
Looking back at that deal, Eichel's model value is $11.2 million. While he's $2.3 million AAV over in surplus savings (-$18.4 million overall with his projections), Dorofeyev has a model value of $7.3 million. Already, you're looking at a discount deal of sizable proportions, even if the Russian winger has another strong season.
But let's go back to Eichel's deal for a second. While his deal might seem overvalued to some, it actually isn't. That's especially true with Vegas's cap situation, where you were working with little space and six more roster spots to fill. Remember that the Golden Knights are hurting to get some decent prospects up in the forward group. You can't just rely on names like Trevor Connelly to fill the void, you know?
Imagine if Eichel's deal matched Kirill Kaprizov's record-breaking contract. If he got the same money as the Minnesota Wild star, that would've put Vegas in a pinch, bumping that available cap space number below $2 million. That meant you're trading away key players like William Karlsson and Tomas Hertl to make room. Golden Knights fans know how McCrimmon feels about doing that.
Therefore, Eichel's newest contract is another masterclass in contractual value from McCrimmon. Now, he could trade away smaller pieces and inch towards being even with the salary cap instead of sacrificing depth. After all, you can't win a Stanley Cup if you don't have a complete forward group in tow.